Fulham seal stunning late free transfer for controversial Liverpool man

Fulham have completed a stunning late move for Liverpool winger Lazar Markovic on a free transfer.

The Cottagers left it until the final stages of the January transfer window to land the Serbian international, handing in one of two deal sheets received by the Premier League after the 11pm UK deadline.

That granted them an extra two hours to finalise the move, and Fulham have confirmed that Markovic has joined as their third January signing, and second of deadline day after Havard Nordtveit.

Markovic moved to Anfield for £20m from Benfica in summer 2014, but had found playing opportunities increasingly limited.

His last appearance for the first team came in May 2015, with loan spells at Fenerbahce, Sporting, Hull and Anderlecht proving unsuccessful.

The Serbian’s Anfield contract expired in the summer, and Fulham have landed him for free as Liverpool wanted to get him off their wage bill.

“Lazar Markovic is a gifted young player; we’re pleased to welcome him from Liverpool for the remainder of the season,” chairman Tony Khan told Fulham’s website.

“Lazar is known as a great teammate, he has the support of our Manager, and he has the talent to strengthen our attack. Come on Fulham!”

Liverpool Under-23s boss Neil Critchley spoke out in October about Markovic’s attitude since being moved to the youth team.

“Lazar has been training with us for a while now and I’ve got to say he’s been brilliant to work with,” Critchley told the ECHO.

“We’ve enjoyed having him around and he’s been great with the young lads.

“He’s humble, he listens to what’s asked of him and he’s been professional. He gets on well with the other players. He played as a centre-forward against Arsenal and on the right wing against West Brom.

“We don’t know how long he will be with us. Eventually, I’m sure his career will go on a different path but while he’s here we want everyone to benefit.”